CN112996432B

CN112996432B - Patch type thermometer and system thereof

Info

Publication number: CN112996432B
Application number: CN201980072930.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 白亨一; 柳炅铉; 金范镇; 李承晔; 安晟齐
Original assignee: Amosense Co Ltd
Current assignee: Amosense Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-10-31
Filing date: 2019-10-23
Publication date: 2024-02-23
Anticipated expiration: 2039-10-23
Also published as: KR102704920B1; CN112996432A; WO2020091294A1; US20220079438A1; KR20200049259A

Abstract

The invention provides a patch type thermometer system which comprises a patch type thermometer and a thermometer display terminal. The patch type thermometer includes: a flexible circuit board; a temperature sensor; a heat insulating layer attached to the temperature sensor; a heat transfer member for transferring heat to the temperature sensor; a GND region formed around the heat transfer member; an exposure hole attached to the temperature sensor; and a protector attached to the skin of the user to measure the body temperature, and transmitting the user ID, related application (App) information and body temperature data based on NFC. The terminal tags the patch type thermometer to form a magnetic field, requests a measurement of body temperature, and receives the user ID, the related application program, and the body temperature data from the patch type thermometer to calculate a body temperature value.

Description

Patch type thermometer and system thereof

Technical Field

The invention relates to a patch type thermometer and a system thereof.

Background

Conventionally, there is a method for measuring body temperature using a contact type thermometer and a noncontact type thermometer, and a common thermometer is, for example, a thermometer such as mercury, alcohol, or an infrared sensor.

Such a thermometer is worn on or in contact with the body and waits for a certain time before taking a measurement.

Therefore, for infants and patients with inconvenient movements, the state of wearing the thermometer on the patient needs to be maintained by surrounding persons, and thus there is a problem that it is troublesome to measure the body temperature.

Further, the conventional thermometer is separated from the body of the user after contacting the body of the subject for a certain period of time to confirm the body temperature, so that it is inconvenient to confirm in real time or periodically.

Accordingly, a patch type thermometer system has recently been developed, which is attached to a user's body to conveniently measure body temperature, and at the same time, can be automatically transferred to a terminal to perform body temperature management.

However, problems may occur in that the body temperature cannot be measured within a desired time due to structural bonding or heat loss of the patch type thermometer.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a patch type thermometer that can be attached to a user's body to facilitate measurement, in which the structure of the thermometer is changed to reduce heat loss and increase thermal conductivity, thereby allowing the body temperature to be measured in a short time.

Solution for solving the problem

In order to solve the problems, the invention provides a patch type thermometer system comprising a body temperature display terminal. The patch type thermometer system comprises a patch type thermometer and a terminal, wherein the patch type thermometer comprises: a flexible circuit board having an NFC antenna pattern for near field communication formed on at least one surface thereof, and having at least one driving chip electrically connected to the antenna pattern for driving the antenna pattern; a temperature sensor mounted on the upper part of the flexible circuit board to be able to measure a body temperature; a heat insulating layer formed in a shape surrounding the temperature sensor; a heat transfer member electrically connected to the temperature sensor via a through hole and mounted on a lower surface of the flexible circuit board so as to be capable of directly contacting a user's skin; a GND region formed around the heat transfer member; an exposure hole attached to the temperature sensor; and a protector surrounding the flexible circuit board, for preventing the antenna pattern, the driving chip and the temperature sensor from being exposed to the outside, wherein the patch type thermometer is attached to the skin of the user to measure the body temperature, and transmits a user ID, related application (App) information and body temperature data based on NFC, and the terminal tags the patch type thermometer to form a magnetic field, requests the measurement of the body temperature, and receives the user ID, the related application and the body temperature data from the patch type thermometer to calculate a body temperature value.

In one embodiment, the GND region formed around the heat transfer member is formed by a process of forming a heat transfer layer around the heat transfer member, in order to form a heat transfer layer in the following heat transfer formula,

q = thermal conductivity

dT/dx = temperature gradient along the heat transfer direction

k=thermal conductivity of substances, wherein each substance is different, measured by a direct test

The a value defined as the heat transfer material size is increased to a size including the GND area to exert an effect of improving the thermal conductivity, and the GND area is formed to be as large as possible in an area other than the above-described temperature sensor and other surrounding components.

In one embodiment, for the exposure hole attached to the temperature sensor, a protection member is surrounded around the exposure hole for improving the thermal conductivity without generating a gap with the skin contact surface.

In one embodiment, the patch thermometer may be driven by inductive coupling with the magnetic field.

In one embodiment, the antenna pattern may function to generate driving power required for driving the chip while performing a data transmission function for transmitting information acquired through the temperature sensor.

In order to achieve the above object, a patch type thermometer according to an embodiment of the present invention may include: a flexible circuit board; a temperature sensor; a thermal insulation layer attached to the temperature sensor; a heat transfer member for transferring heat to the temperature sensor; a GND region formed around the heat transfer member; an exposure hole attached to the temperature sensor; and a protective member. For the above flexible circuit board, at least one side thereof may be formed with an antenna pattern, and at least one driving chip may be mounted. The temperature sensor may be mounted on an upper portion of the flexible circuit board for enabling measurement of body temperature. The temperature sensor may be formed in a shape surrounding the temperature sensor by attaching a heat insulating layer thereto. The heat transfer member is electrically connected to the temperature sensor via a through hole, and may be mounted on a lower surface of the flexible circuit board so as to be capable of directly contacting the skin of a user.

GND area formed around the above heat transfer member, in order to make the following heat conduction formula,

q = thermal conductivity

dT/dx = temperature gradient along the heat transfer direction

The a value defined as the heat transfer member size is increased to a size including the GND area, which may be formed to be as large as possible in an area other than the above-described temperature sensor and other surrounding components, to have an effect of improving the thermal conductivity. For the exposure hole attached to the above temperature sensor, a protective member may be surrounding the exposure hole for improving the thermal conductivity without generating a gap with the skin contact surface. The protector may surround the flexible circuit board, for preventing the antenna pattern, the driving chip, and the temperature sensor from being exposed to the outside.

Effects of the invention

As described above, according to the patch type thermometer system of the embodiment of the present invention, the structure of the patch type thermometer for conveniently measuring the body temperature by being attached to the body of the user is changed, and the effect of reducing heat loss and increasing thermal conductivity is achieved, so that the body temperature can be measured in a short time.

That is, in the patch type thermometer, the area defined as the size of the heat transfer member is increased to the area including the GND area to exert an effect of improving the thermal conductivity.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a thermometer system constituted by a body temperature display terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the patch type thermometer of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a bottom view illustrating a separated state of the release film 180 of fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an internal structure of fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of the heat transfer member and the GND area of fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the direction a-a of fig. 4.

Detailed Description

For the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein, the specific structural and functional descriptions are presented for purposes of illustration and description, and the embodiments of the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown in the drawings and are herein described in detail.

However, the present invention is not limited to the specific form disclosed, and it is to be understood that the present invention includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various elements, but the above elements should not be limited to the above terms. The above terms may be used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, a first component may be termed a second component, and, similarly, a second component may be termed a first component, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

When a component is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another component, it can be directly connected or connected to the other component, but it is understood that other components may exist in the middle. Conversely, when reference is made to a certain component being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another component, it is to be understood that no other component is present in between. Likewise, other expressions describing the relationship between the constituent elements, i.e. "between and" exactly between "or" adjacent to "and" directly adjacent to "etc. should also be interpreted as described above.

The terminology used in the present application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Singular forms include plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be understood that the terms "comprises" and "comprising," when used in this application, are taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or groups thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms that have been defined, such as in a dictionary that is generally used, should be construed to be consistent with the meaning expressed in the context of the related art, and should not be construed to be ideal or excessively formal in the event that the present application is not explicitly defined.

Also, where an embodiment may be implemented in a different manner, the functions or acts illustrated within a particular block may be performed in a different order than illustrated by the flowchart. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, and the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality or acts involved.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals are used for the same components in the drawings, and duplicate descriptions of the same components are omitted.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a patch type thermometer 100 and a patch type thermometer system 10 constituted by a body temperature display terminal 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The patch type thermometer 100 is attached to the skin of a user to measure the body temperature. The patch thermometer 100 may be driven based on near field communication (Near Field Communication, NFC). That is, the patch type thermometer 100 is driven by inductive coupling with the magnetic field formed by the terminal 200, and the user ID, related application (App) information, and measured body temperature data of the patch type thermometer 100 are transmitted to the terminal 100 based on NFC. The temperature sensor incorporated in the patch thermometer 100 may be an Active (Active) sensor or a Passive (Passive) sensor.

The terminal 200 tags (tags) the patch type thermometer 100 to form a magnetic field and requests the patch type thermometer 100 to perform body temperature measurement. For example, the terminal 200 may communicate with the patch thermometer 100 based on NFC. That is, the terminal 200 receives the user ID, the related application information, and the body temperature data from the patch type thermometer 100.

At this time, the terminal 200 calculates a body temperature value recognizable to the user based on the body temperature data received from the patch type thermometer 100.

The terminal 200, which is a terminal of a user or a guardian, can perform NFC communication with the patch thermometer 100, drive related applications, and perform remote communication for communication with the body temperature management server. For example, the terminal 200 may be a portable electronic device such as a mobile phone, a tablet PC, or a wearable apparatus such as a smart watch, but is not limited thereto.

Referring to fig. 2 to 6, the patch type thermometer 100 may include: a flexible circuit board 110; a temperature sensor 130; a heat insulating layer 135 attached to the temperature sensor 130; a heat transfer member 140 for transferring heat to the temperature sensor 130; a Ground (GND) region 145 formed around the heat transfer member 140; an exposure hole 153 attached to the temperature sensor 130; and a protector 150.

The flexible circuit board 110 may be a substrate on which various circuit elements are mounted or on which circuit patterns for electrical connection are formed. For example, the circuit element may be an element in the form of a chip set that performs a specific function, and the circuit pattern may be an antenna pattern or a wiring pattern for electrical connection.

Such a flexible circuit board 110 may be a known flexible circuit board (FPCB) having flexibility using Polyimide (PI), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or the like.

At this time, the flexible circuit board 110 may be formed with an antenna pattern 120 on at least one surface thereof, and at least one driving chip 121 electrically connected to the antenna pattern 120 may be mounted. Also, a temperature sensor 130 may be mounted on one surface of the flexible circuit board 110, and the temperature sensor 130 may be electrically connected to the driving chip 121 through the guide part 114.

For example, the antenna pattern 120 may be an NFC antenna for near field communication, and the driving chip 121 may be an NFC driving chip for driving the antenna pattern 120.

Accordingly, the antenna pattern 120 is driven by the driving chip 121 mounted on the flexible circuit board 110, thereby being capable of functioning as a radiator for transmitting information acquired through the temperature sensor 130 to the external terminal 200 in an NFC communication manner.

Thus, the body temperature data measured by the temperature sensor 130 may be transmitted to the terminal 200 through the antenna pattern 120 at the time of NFC tagging with the terminal 200.

Also, the antenna pattern 120 may function as a driving power required to generate the driving chip 121 while functioning as data transmission for transmitting information acquired through the temperature sensor 130.

That is, the antenna pattern 120 inductively couples with the magnetic field formed by the terminal 200, and power generated by the inductive coupling is supplied to the driving chip 121 side.

The antenna pattern may function to generate driving power required for driving the chip while performing a data transmission function to transmit information acquired through the temperature sensor.

Specifically, the antenna pattern 120 inductively couples with a magnetic field from the terminal 200 when NFC tagging is performed to generate power for driving the driving chip 121. The generation of power may be referred to as Radio Frequency (RF) harvesting, among other things.

Thus, the driving chip 121 may be driven using power received from the antenna pattern 120 when NFC tagging is performed, and information acquired through the temperature sensor 130 may be transmitted to the terminal 200 through the antenna pattern 120.

Accordingly, the patch type thermometer 100 does not require an additional power source for driving the driving chip 121, so that the entire weight can be reduced, and a battery can be omitted, thereby enabling realization of an ultra-thin type thermometer.

The temperature sensor 130 detects the body temperature of the user so that information for the body temperature of the user can be generated. Such a temperature sensor 130 may be mounted to one side of the flexible circuit board 110.

At this time, the temperature sensor 130 may be a digital type temperature sensor that measures the body temperature of the user based on the heat transferred through the heat transfer member 140.

The temperature sensor 130 may be formed in a shape surrounding the temperature sensor by attaching a heat insulating layer 135 thereto.

The heat transfer member 140 is electrically connected to the temperature sensor 130 via the through-hole 112, and is mounted on the lower surface of the flexible circuit board 110 so as to be capable of directly contacting the skin of a user.

GND area 145 formed around the above-described heat transfer member 140, in order to make the heat transfer formula,

q = thermal conductivity

dT/dx = temperature gradient along the heat transfer direction

The a value defined as the size of the heat transfer member is increased to a size including the GND area 145, which may be formed to be as large as possible in an area other than the above-described temperature sensor and other surrounding components, to have an effect of improving the thermal conductivity.

Also, the temperature sensor 130 and the heat transfer member 140 may be electrically connected to each other via the through-hole 112.

Therefore, the temperature sensor 130 may be mounted on the same surface as the driving chip 121, i.e., the upper surface of the flexible circuit board 110, without being exposed to the skin side of the user, and may be entirely covered by the protector 150 described later, so that the air tightness may be improved.

At this time, the driving chip 121 may be disposed at the inner side of the antenna pattern 120, the temperature sensor 130 may be disposed at the outer side of the antenna pattern 120, and the driving chip 121 and the temperature sensor 130 may be electrically connected to each other through the guide 114 formed at least one side of the flexible circuit board 110.

At this time, as described above, the heat transfer member 140 is mounted on the lower surface of the flexible circuit board 110 to be able to directly contact the skin of the user. Thereby, the body temperature transferred from the skin of the user can be transferred to the temperature sensor 130 side through the heat transfer member 140.

For this reason, the heat transfer member 140 may be made of a metal material having excellent heat conductivity.

At this time, the heat transfer member 140 may have a state of being always maintained in contact with the skin of the user. For this, the heat transfer member 140 may have a shape in which a central portion protrudes in one direction.

For example, the heat transfer member 140 may be formed in a hemispherical shape or a dome shape.

Therefore, when the patch thermometer 100 is attached to the skin of the user, the central portion of the heat transfer member 140 can be kept in contact with the skin of the user at all times even if the attached portion is a curved portion. Accordingly, the heat transfer member 140 can smoothly transfer the heat transferred from the skin of the user to the temperature sensor 130 side.

As shown in fig. 6, the heat transfer member 140 may be exposed to the outside through an exposure hole 153 formed in a protector 150 described later. Accordingly, for the exposure hole attached to the temperature sensor 130, a protective member may be surrounded around the exposure hole 153 for improving thermal conductivity without generating a gap with the skin contact surface.

Also, the patch type thermometer 100 may include a protector 150 surrounding the flexible circuit board 110 for preventing the antenna pattern 120, the driving chip 121, and the temperature sensor 130 from being exposed to the outside.

Accordingly, the protector 150 may be formed to entirely surround the remaining portion except for the portion corresponding to the heat transfer member 140.

That is, the protector 150 may be disposed to entirely cover the upper and lower surfaces of the flexible circuit board 110, thereby preventing the antenna pattern 120, the driving chip 121, the temperature sensor 130, and the flexible circuit board 110 except for the heat transfer member 140 from being exposed to the outside.

At this time, the protector 150 may be made of a flexible material. Accordingly, even if the patch thermometer 100 is attached to a curved body part, the curvature of the user's body can be flexibly changed so as to improve the fit with the user's body.

For example, a molded body made of an insulating resin such as silica gel may be used. However, the protector 150 is not limited to this, and may be a fluoropolymer resin such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), or Polyethylene (PE), or a sheet shape formed of release paper or the like, and may be used without limitation as long as it has insulation and air-tightness.

In the patch type thermometer 100, an adhesive layer 160 may be formed on one surface of the protector 150.

The adhesive layer 160 may provide an adhesive force or cohesive force such that the patch thermometer 100 is attached to the user's body. Wherein the adhesive layer 160 may be formed at one side where the exposure hole 153 is formed, the exposure hole 153 for exposing the heat transfer member 140 to the outside. Accordingly, when the patch type thermometer 100 is attached to the skin of the user through the adhesive layer 160, the heat transfer member 140 may directly contact the skin of the user.

For example, the adhesive layer 160 may be a gel-type adhesive layer, and may be made of a material that recovers adhesion force when in contact with moisture, and thus may be repeatedly used.

However, the material of the adhesive layer 160 is not limited to this, and may be used without limitation as long as it can provide adhesion to the skin of the user.

In the patch thermometer 100, an information display 170 may be formed on one surface of the protector 150. The information display unit 170 may include any one or more of information including letters, numbers, and graphics.

For example, the information display part 170 may be a logo or a graphic for providing an aesthetic sense. Thus, the user can recognize various information through the information display unit 170, and recognize information for the product.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will appreciate that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Reference numerals illustrate:

100: patch thermometer 200: terminal

110: flexible circuit board 130: temperature sensor

135: thermal insulation layer 140: heat transfer member

145: GND area 150: protecting piece

153: exposing the holes.

Claims

1. A patch thermometer system, comprising:

a patch-type thermometer and a terminal thereof,

the patch type thermometer includes: a flexible circuit board having at least one surface formed with an NFC antenna pattern for performing near field communication and mounted with at least one driving chip electrically connected to the antenna pattern for driving the antenna pattern; a temperature sensor mounted on an upper portion of the flexible circuit board to measure a body temperature; a heat insulating layer formed in a shape surrounding the temperature sensor; a heat transfer member electrically connected to the temperature sensor via a through hole and mounted on a lower surface of the flexible circuit board to directly contact the skin of a user; a ground region formed around the heat transfer member; an exposure hole attached to the temperature sensor; and a protector surrounding the flexible circuit board for preventing the antenna pattern, the driving chip and the temperature sensor from being exposed to the outside, the patch type thermometer being attached to the skin of the user to measure the body temperature and transmitting the user ID, related application information and body temperature data based on NFC,

the terminal tags the patch type thermometer to form a magnetic field, requests to measure a body temperature, and receives the user ID, the related application information and the body temperature data from the patch type thermometer to calculate a body temperature value,

a ground region formed around the heat transfer member, in order to make the heat transfer in the following heat conduction formula,

q = thermal conductivity

Temperature gradient along heat transfer direction

The a value defined as the size of the heat transfer member is increased to a size including the ground region to exert an effect of improving the heat conductivity, and the ground region is formed to be enlarged to a maximum size in a region other than the temperature sensor and other surrounding components.

2. The patch thermometer system of claim 1, wherein,

for the exposure hole attached to the temperature sensor, a protective member is surrounded around the exposure hole for improving the thermal conductivity without generating a gap with the skin contact surface.

3. The patch thermometer system of claim 1, wherein,

the NFC antenna pattern plays a role in data transmission of transmitting information acquired by the temperature sensor and also plays a role in generating driving power required for driving the chip.

4. The patch thermometer system of claim 1, wherein,

the patch thermometer is driven by inductive coupling with the magnetic field.

5. A patch thermometer, comprising:

a flexible circuit board having at least one surface formed with an NFC antenna pattern for performing near field communication and mounted with at least one driving chip electrically connected to the antenna pattern for driving the antenna pattern; a temperature sensor mounted on an upper portion of the flexible circuit board to measure a body temperature; a heat insulating layer formed in a shape surrounding the temperature sensor; a heat transfer member electrically connected to the temperature sensor via a through hole and mounted on a lower surface of the flexible circuit board to directly contact the skin of a user; a ground region formed around the heat transfer member, the ground region being formed to be electrically connected to the heat transfer member, in order to form a heat transfer path in the following heat transfer formula,

q = thermal conductivity

Temperature gradient along heat transfer direction

Increasing an a value defined as a size of the heat transfer member to a size including a ground area formed to be enlarged to a maximum size in an area other than the temperature sensor and other surrounding components to exert an effect of improving heat conductivity; an exposure hole attached to the temperature sensor and surrounded by a protector so as not to generate a gap with the skin contact surface; and a protector surrounding the flexible circuit board for preventing the antenna pattern, the driving chip and the temperature sensor from being exposed to the outside, the patch type thermometer being attached to the skin of the user to measure the body temperature, and transmitting the user ID, related application information and body temperature data based on the NFC.

6. The patch thermometer according to claim 5, wherein,